Latest news with #Katoa
Sydney Morning Herald
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
NSW nearly lost Cleary and Moses to injury. Who are the halves next in line?
Isaiya Katoa continues to earn rave reviews for his displays at the Dolphins, especially as the club has run up some big scores in recent weeks. Immortal Andrew Johns has publicly praised Katoa on several occasions for the way he plays straight and regularly digs into the line, already anointing him Cleary's long-term NSW No.7 successor. When asked about the 21-year-old being parachuted into Origin III at Accor Stadium in the event of any fresh injuries, Johns said on Nine's Immortal Behaviour: 'Katoa is special. I worry about his age. He'd handle it, but you don't want to burn him too early. Coming in with the series on the line is a lot of pressure. [Queenslander] Tom Dearden got it done coming into game two … [but] on the back of eight [first-half] penalties.' NSW coach Laurie Daley is also a fan of Katoa, but it is unlikely he would throw a 21-year-old in for his Origin debut in an all-or-nothing decider. Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf has worked with Katoa for several years, including with the Tongan Test team, and while he knows Katoa is in wonderful form he is also mindful of keeping a lid on the hype. 'He's an exceptional young man, I love the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his work in terms of wanting to be the best player he can be – and how hard he works at that – and his calm nature,' Woolf said. 'He's calm around the club, he's calm on the field, and that's why he's getting better each week.' New Zealand Warriors playmaker Luke Metcalf is enjoying a breakout season and currently sits in the top half of contenders in the Dally M race, but was struggling with what looked like a quad injury in the late stages of yesterday's defeat to Penrith. Like Katoa, he would find it a big ask to play his first Origin game with everything at stake. Loading The same line of thinking would also be why Canterbury recruit Lachie Galvin would not be considered, even though he is a future Blue in the making. Broncos captain Adam Reynolds has played Origin in the past and was just last week weighing up a move to the Tigers, where he would have joined Luai. Thankfully for the Blues and Daley, Cleary, Burton and Luai will have all finished their NRL commitments by next Friday night. Hopefully, this debate is not being had this time next week.
The Age
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
NSW nearly lost Cleary and Moses to injury. Who are the halves next in line?
Isaiya Katoa continues to earn rave reviews for his displays at the Dolphins, especially as the club has run up some big scores in recent weeks. Immortal Andrew Johns has publicly praised Katoa on several occasions for the way he plays straight and regularly digs into the line, already anointing him Cleary's long-term NSW No.7 successor. When asked about the 21-year-old being parachuted into Origin III at Accor Stadium in the event of any fresh injuries, Johns said on Nine's Immortal Behaviour: 'Katoa is special. I worry about his age. He'd handle it, but you don't want to burn him too early. Coming in with the series on the line is a lot of pressure. [Queenslander] Tom Dearden got it done coming into game two … [but] on the back of eight [first-half] penalties.' NSW coach Laurie Daley is also a fan of Katoa, but it is unlikely he would throw a 21-year-old in for his Origin debut in an all-or-nothing decider. Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf has worked with Katoa for several years, including with the Tongan Test team, and while he knows Katoa is in wonderful form he is also mindful of keeping a lid on the hype. 'He's an exceptional young man, I love the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his work in terms of wanting to be the best player he can be – and how hard he works at that – and his calm nature,' Woolf said. 'He's calm around the club, he's calm on the field, and that's why he's getting better each week.' New Zealand Warriors playmaker Luke Metcalf is enjoying a breakout season and currently sits in the top half of contenders in the Dally M race, but was struggling with what looked like a quad injury in the late stages of yesterday's defeat to Penrith. Like Katoa, he would find it a big ask to play his first Origin game with everything at stake. Loading The same line of thinking would also be why Canterbury recruit Lachie Galvin would not be considered, even though he is a future Blue in the making. Broncos captain Adam Reynolds has played Origin in the past and was just last week weighing up a move to the Tigers, where he would have joined Luai. Thankfully for the Blues and Daley, Cleary, Burton and Luai will have all finished their NRL commitments by next Friday night. Hopefully, this debate is not being had this time next week.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Young leader: Dolphins gun equals idol Cleary's record
Isaiya Katoa will become the youngest NRL captain since his idol Nathan Cleary in 2019, having given Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf the ultimate accolade as he prepares to step up. The 21-year-old will lead the Dolphins for the first time on Saturday, when they face Newcastle in Perth without suspended acting captain Felise Kaufusi. The Dolphins expect to have Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow on deck for the clash after he made it through Queensland's game-two State of Origin win, while Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga is also set to back up. Katoa, at just 21 years and 123 days, will be the youngest player to captain an NRL side since Cleary did so at the exact same age when he co-captained Penrith in round one of 2019. Katoa, who came through the Panthers system with Cleary as a role model, has been the catalyst for the Dolphins winning their past three games in emphatic fashion and surging into sixth position. The superstar is the player former greats Andrew Johns and Cooper Cronk wax lyrical about most weeks for his elite playmaking ways. The Tongan international has engaged the line 161 times this year, the best in the NRL, while he has the most kick metres (6254m) and is equal second for try assists (13). He played his first two seasons of NRL under master coach Wayne Bennett but has gone to another level under Woolf in 2025. "'Woolfy' has been awesome for me and has probably had the biggest impact on my footy career so far," Katoa said. "I've had him as a coach since I was 18 years old in the Tonga team. He knows how to bring me right back to square one when I need it and at the same time he gives me praise when I need it as well. "That balance has been awesome and is what I do love about him … just the way he can connect with everyone on a personal level and instil a lot of confidence into you." Despite missing four of their best forwards, the Dolphins have won their past three games against Canterbury, St George Illawarra and North Queensland with a combined tally of 158-18. "I think we understand our DNA as a team," Katoa said. "We now know we can base our game off hard work, winning the tough stuff first and then we get the joy to play a bit of footy towards the back end of the halves. "If we can keep the balance right with that and go after teams physically and win games with our shoulders it is going to be great for us in the long run." Isaiya Katoa will become the youngest NRL captain since his idol Nathan Cleary in 2019, having given Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf the ultimate accolade as he prepares to step up. The 21-year-old will lead the Dolphins for the first time on Saturday, when they face Newcastle in Perth without suspended acting captain Felise Kaufusi. The Dolphins expect to have Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow on deck for the clash after he made it through Queensland's game-two State of Origin win, while Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga is also set to back up. Katoa, at just 21 years and 123 days, will be the youngest player to captain an NRL side since Cleary did so at the exact same age when he co-captained Penrith in round one of 2019. Katoa, who came through the Panthers system with Cleary as a role model, has been the catalyst for the Dolphins winning their past three games in emphatic fashion and surging into sixth position. The superstar is the player former greats Andrew Johns and Cooper Cronk wax lyrical about most weeks for his elite playmaking ways. The Tongan international has engaged the line 161 times this year, the best in the NRL, while he has the most kick metres (6254m) and is equal second for try assists (13). He played his first two seasons of NRL under master coach Wayne Bennett but has gone to another level under Woolf in 2025. "'Woolfy' has been awesome for me and has probably had the biggest impact on my footy career so far," Katoa said. "I've had him as a coach since I was 18 years old in the Tonga team. He knows how to bring me right back to square one when I need it and at the same time he gives me praise when I need it as well. "That balance has been awesome and is what I do love about him … just the way he can connect with everyone on a personal level and instil a lot of confidence into you." Despite missing four of their best forwards, the Dolphins have won their past three games against Canterbury, St George Illawarra and North Queensland with a combined tally of 158-18. "I think we understand our DNA as a team," Katoa said. "We now know we can base our game off hard work, winning the tough stuff first and then we get the joy to play a bit of footy towards the back end of the halves. "If we can keep the balance right with that and go after teams physically and win games with our shoulders it is going to be great for us in the long run." Isaiya Katoa will become the youngest NRL captain since his idol Nathan Cleary in 2019, having given Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf the ultimate accolade as he prepares to step up. The 21-year-old will lead the Dolphins for the first time on Saturday, when they face Newcastle in Perth without suspended acting captain Felise Kaufusi. The Dolphins expect to have Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow on deck for the clash after he made it through Queensland's game-two State of Origin win, while Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga is also set to back up. Katoa, at just 21 years and 123 days, will be the youngest player to captain an NRL side since Cleary did so at the exact same age when he co-captained Penrith in round one of 2019. Katoa, who came through the Panthers system with Cleary as a role model, has been the catalyst for the Dolphins winning their past three games in emphatic fashion and surging into sixth position. The superstar is the player former greats Andrew Johns and Cooper Cronk wax lyrical about most weeks for his elite playmaking ways. The Tongan international has engaged the line 161 times this year, the best in the NRL, while he has the most kick metres (6254m) and is equal second for try assists (13). He played his first two seasons of NRL under master coach Wayne Bennett but has gone to another level under Woolf in 2025. "'Woolfy' has been awesome for me and has probably had the biggest impact on my footy career so far," Katoa said. "I've had him as a coach since I was 18 years old in the Tonga team. He knows how to bring me right back to square one when I need it and at the same time he gives me praise when I need it as well. "That balance has been awesome and is what I do love about him … just the way he can connect with everyone on a personal level and instil a lot of confidence into you." Despite missing four of their best forwards, the Dolphins have won their past three games against Canterbury, St George Illawarra and North Queensland with a combined tally of 158-18. "I think we understand our DNA as a team," Katoa said. "We now know we can base our game off hard work, winning the tough stuff first and then we get the joy to play a bit of footy towards the back end of the halves. "If we can keep the balance right with that and go after teams physically and win games with our shoulders it is going to be great for us in the long run."
The Advertiser
14-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Bostock's four tries fire Dolphins to destroy Cowboys
The Dolphins have surged to sixth position on the NRL ladder, with four tries to winger Jack Bostock and another masterclass by halves Kodi Nikorima and Isaiya Katoa firing a 58-4 thrashing of North Queensland. Four-try hero Bostock, who will surely represent NSW in the future, ensured the Dolphins entered the stratosphere for attacking football and defensive resolve in sequence. The losing 54-point margin for the Cowboys was the worst in their history at home. The ruthless Dolphins became just the sixth side in premiership history to win three consecutive games by at least 36 points after a 56-6 win over St George Illawarra and a 44-8 victory against Canterbury. "We have got a great ability as a team to score points," Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said. "The halves love playing together, but I also know that when we are defending really well that is when we are at our best. "We have got to make sure that we keep turning up and working hard and that we don't let a couple of wins weaken us ... and all of a sudden we get our pants pulled down." Former Cowboys centre Brent Tate said on Fox League it was "one of the worst" performances by the club he had seen, despite them missing four State of Origin stars. "It was a tough night," Cowboys coach Todd Payten said. The Dolphins have won seven of their past 10 matches and are clearly the best-coached and performed side of all the Queensland teams. With their four best forwards out for the season, the response of the side after a 0-4 start to the campaign has been nothing short of extraordinary under Woolf. Their oldest forwards Felise Kaufusi, 33, and Mark Nicholls, 35, led the pack up front in Townsville on Saturday with gusto and grunt. Nikorima has been the unsung hero of the Dolphins' resurgence. Katoa, with the most try assists this season, has got all the wraps and rightly so, but his veteran partner has been a linchpin figure. Both were electric against the Cowboys, who have won just one of their past six games. The Cowboys suffered a major blow in the warm-up when star forward Jason Taumalolo withdrew with a concern over an injured calf that had kept him out of action since round nine. Bostock scored early before Kaufusi was binned for a high shot on Cowboys replacement half Tom Duffy, minutes after stand-in captain Scott Drinkwater was also hit high. Both Cowboys went off for HIAs. Down to 12 men, the Dolphins were far too classy for the Cowboys, with Nikorima and Katoa creating a second try for Bostock. Katoa sliced through to put rampaging back-rower Oryn Keeley over under the sticks for a 16-0 lead. The Cowboys caught out the Dolphins on the short side with a slick move from Drinkwater to put winger Murray Taulagi over in the corner, but that was their only joy. Dolphins utility Kurt Donoghoe scored on the cusp of halftime for the Dolphins to lead 22-4 at the break. From there it was all the Dolphins, with Bostock, outstanding fill-in fullback Jake Averillo, devastating centre Herbie Farnworth, tough-as-teak Ray Stone and Nikorima all continuing the try-scoring extravaganza. The Dolphins have surged to sixth position on the NRL ladder, with four tries to winger Jack Bostock and another masterclass by halves Kodi Nikorima and Isaiya Katoa firing a 58-4 thrashing of North Queensland. Four-try hero Bostock, who will surely represent NSW in the future, ensured the Dolphins entered the stratosphere for attacking football and defensive resolve in sequence. The losing 54-point margin for the Cowboys was the worst in their history at home. The ruthless Dolphins became just the sixth side in premiership history to win three consecutive games by at least 36 points after a 56-6 win over St George Illawarra and a 44-8 victory against Canterbury. "We have got a great ability as a team to score points," Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said. "The halves love playing together, but I also know that when we are defending really well that is when we are at our best. "We have got to make sure that we keep turning up and working hard and that we don't let a couple of wins weaken us ... and all of a sudden we get our pants pulled down." Former Cowboys centre Brent Tate said on Fox League it was "one of the worst" performances by the club he had seen, despite them missing four State of Origin stars. "It was a tough night," Cowboys coach Todd Payten said. The Dolphins have won seven of their past 10 matches and are clearly the best-coached and performed side of all the Queensland teams. With their four best forwards out for the season, the response of the side after a 0-4 start to the campaign has been nothing short of extraordinary under Woolf. Their oldest forwards Felise Kaufusi, 33, and Mark Nicholls, 35, led the pack up front in Townsville on Saturday with gusto and grunt. Nikorima has been the unsung hero of the Dolphins' resurgence. Katoa, with the most try assists this season, has got all the wraps and rightly so, but his veteran partner has been a linchpin figure. Both were electric against the Cowboys, who have won just one of their past six games. The Cowboys suffered a major blow in the warm-up when star forward Jason Taumalolo withdrew with a concern over an injured calf that had kept him out of action since round nine. Bostock scored early before Kaufusi was binned for a high shot on Cowboys replacement half Tom Duffy, minutes after stand-in captain Scott Drinkwater was also hit high. Both Cowboys went off for HIAs. Down to 12 men, the Dolphins were far too classy for the Cowboys, with Nikorima and Katoa creating a second try for Bostock. Katoa sliced through to put rampaging back-rower Oryn Keeley over under the sticks for a 16-0 lead. The Cowboys caught out the Dolphins on the short side with a slick move from Drinkwater to put winger Murray Taulagi over in the corner, but that was their only joy. Dolphins utility Kurt Donoghoe scored on the cusp of halftime for the Dolphins to lead 22-4 at the break. From there it was all the Dolphins, with Bostock, outstanding fill-in fullback Jake Averillo, devastating centre Herbie Farnworth, tough-as-teak Ray Stone and Nikorima all continuing the try-scoring extravaganza. The Dolphins have surged to sixth position on the NRL ladder, with four tries to winger Jack Bostock and another masterclass by halves Kodi Nikorima and Isaiya Katoa firing a 58-4 thrashing of North Queensland. Four-try hero Bostock, who will surely represent NSW in the future, ensured the Dolphins entered the stratosphere for attacking football and defensive resolve in sequence. The losing 54-point margin for the Cowboys was the worst in their history at home. The ruthless Dolphins became just the sixth side in premiership history to win three consecutive games by at least 36 points after a 56-6 win over St George Illawarra and a 44-8 victory against Canterbury. "We have got a great ability as a team to score points," Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said. "The halves love playing together, but I also know that when we are defending really well that is when we are at our best. "We have got to make sure that we keep turning up and working hard and that we don't let a couple of wins weaken us ... and all of a sudden we get our pants pulled down." Former Cowboys centre Brent Tate said on Fox League it was "one of the worst" performances by the club he had seen, despite them missing four State of Origin stars. "It was a tough night," Cowboys coach Todd Payten said. The Dolphins have won seven of their past 10 matches and are clearly the best-coached and performed side of all the Queensland teams. With their four best forwards out for the season, the response of the side after a 0-4 start to the campaign has been nothing short of extraordinary under Woolf. Their oldest forwards Felise Kaufusi, 33, and Mark Nicholls, 35, led the pack up front in Townsville on Saturday with gusto and grunt. Nikorima has been the unsung hero of the Dolphins' resurgence. Katoa, with the most try assists this season, has got all the wraps and rightly so, but his veteran partner has been a linchpin figure. Both were electric against the Cowboys, who have won just one of their past six games. The Cowboys suffered a major blow in the warm-up when star forward Jason Taumalolo withdrew with a concern over an injured calf that had kept him out of action since round nine. Bostock scored early before Kaufusi was binned for a high shot on Cowboys replacement half Tom Duffy, minutes after stand-in captain Scott Drinkwater was also hit high. Both Cowboys went off for HIAs. Down to 12 men, the Dolphins were far too classy for the Cowboys, with Nikorima and Katoa creating a second try for Bostock. Katoa sliced through to put rampaging back-rower Oryn Keeley over under the sticks for a 16-0 lead. The Cowboys caught out the Dolphins on the short side with a slick move from Drinkwater to put winger Murray Taulagi over in the corner, but that was their only joy. Dolphins utility Kurt Donoghoe scored on the cusp of halftime for the Dolphins to lead 22-4 at the break. From there it was all the Dolphins, with Bostock, outstanding fill-in fullback Jake Averillo, devastating centre Herbie Farnworth, tough-as-teak Ray Stone and Nikorima all continuing the try-scoring extravaganza.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Trindall puts Sharks' season on track in crucial win
Braydon Trindall has helped put Cronulla's NRL season back on track, unleashing 10 minutes of torment on St George Illawarra to inspire a 30-18 come-from-behind win. Off the back of two straight losses and after trailing at halftime, Cronulla went from 18-6 down to 22-18 up between the 47th and 57th minutes on Thursday night. The hosts then did enough to hold on for victory at Shark Park, making it 10 in a row against their arch-rivals and keeping the Sharks fifth on the ladder. Trindall's kicking was at the centre of it all, while the Cronulla five-eighth also scored a double in the victory. Blayke Brailey was among the Sharks' best with his running out of dummy-half, while Sione Katoa bagged a double in the win. The winger's last try to seal the match will also go down as one of the best of the year. With the Dragons down 24-18 with five minutes to play, five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia chipped ahead and went to toe the ball on again. But Katoa slid along the ground to catch the ball goalkeeper-style, before gathering his feet and sprinting 60 metres to score. Katoa races away! 🏁#NRLSharksDragons Telstra Moment of the Match — NRL (@NRL) June 12, 2025 The result makes it two losses in a row for the Dragons, with Shane Flanagan's men now 12th and at risk of sliding further south this weekend. For the Sharks, this was a desperately needed win. Beaten by an undermanned Sydney Roosters in Gosford and travelling Warriors in their past two matches, Cronulla travel to Brisbane and Melbourne in the next fortnight. "It's too big of a picture to look at it like that," Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. "We're where we're at, we haven't performed for a couple of weeks. Even the result today was irrelevant. "It was the performance that was needed. "We needed to see what we want to be and do. We just needed to play like the Sharks, that was the most important thing out of tonight." Cronulla looked at their best with Brailey running out of dummy-half, and the hooker laid on the Sharks' first when he sent Trindall over early. But after that, the Sharks defence began to break. Dragons veteran Damien Cook turned back the clock for one try and King-Togia beat four defenders for another. And when Jack de Belin went over with Sharks centre Jesse Ramien in the sin-bin for a professional foul it was 18-6. Then after the break Cronulla's forwards started to get a roll on, the wind picked up and Trindall chose his moments to terrorise the Dragons. The five-eighth first put Briton Nikora over with a short ball, before staying alive to score from one of his own bombs after Clint Gutherson and Tyrell Sloan failed to defuse it. The go-ahead try then came when Nathan Lawson dropped Trindall's next bomb, and Katoa skipped to the outside of Dragons centre Moses Suli from the scrum to score. "They ran a little harder in the second half, got good field position and all their kicks were contestable," Flanagan said. "You have to make them kick long, and they were all contestable kicks. And we didn't handle the kicks. "There's 12 points, there's the game off two kicks." The only concern for Cronulla came in the form of a calf injury for Mawene Hiroti, just a week after fellow centre KL Iro was ruled out for two months with a pectoral tear.
